Sectional Assignment #2: Disease, Despair, and Hope*As with any course, certain social elements should be examined. In our international relations global issues course, I feel it is paramount for a better understanding of the topic at hand; we will examine three major social matters. Enjoy but take heed to the sensitivity of the material. The world is a beautiful, yet brutal place. Due Date: See due date as timed

***********************************************************************Part A: The Burden of Disease1. Key Environmental Burdens2. The Cost and Consequences of Health Problemsa. Communicable/Non-Communicable 3. Reduce the Burden of Disease

Narrative: Until quite recently, the global war against infectious diseases appeared to be on the road to victory. However, the advent of new infectious diseases and the re-emergence of old ones in areas of the world avowedly free of such diseases, have precipitated a new health crisis which threatens to overwhelm the gains so far made. For example, infectious diseases are caused by pathogenic microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi; the diseases can be spread, directly or indirectly, from one person to another. Zoonotic diseases are infectious diseases of animals that can cause disease when transmitted to humans.

As you can read, the UNHCR strives to ensure that people have access to adequate nutrient-rich food and safe water is essential for protecting the safety, health and well-being of refugees and other populations of concern. For this reason, UNHCR strives to improve the nutritional status of all the people it serves - mostly women and children.

They assert the right to freedom from hunger and malnutrition is also backed by international conventions, as is the right to the highest standards of health and health care. Moreover, the goals of ensuring that forcibly displaced people have access to adequate health services, food security, water and improved nutrition are included in UNHCR's Global Strategic Objectives for 2008-2012.

The UN refugee agency works to achieve these targets, as well as the goal of ensuring international nutrition standards for all people of concern, through strategic funding and by working in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP) and other governmental and non-governmental partners. UNHCR implements the most up-to-date nutritional and food security approaches and technologies in programmes and policies.

UNHCR, which is the lead agency in coordinating refugee nutrition, has also identified essential packages to improve services for populations in need in the areas of nutrition and micronutrients as well as related areas such as reproductive health, malaria and child survival.

In addition, they strive to place greater emphasis and resources are being put into building the capacity of UNHCR and its partners through training, standard guidelines, strategic plans and additional staffing, coordination and appropriate programmed practices.

They fully believe that there is a clear link between nutrition and public health. Communicable diseases brought on in part by malnutrition are responsible for millions of preventable deaths each year. Mass population movements can result in high rates of malnutrition, sickness and death. Shortage of food also makes people more vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation. Poor quality diets contribute to delayed childhood development, causing irreparable damage due to vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

Here are some additional facts about malnutrition and hunger:

Malnutrition – the state of being poorly nourished – is not merely a result of having too little food, but of a combination of factors: insufficient protein, energy and micronutrients, frequent infections or disease, poor care and feeding practices, inadequate health services, and unsafe water and sanitation.

It is estimated that 854 million people in the world suffer from chronic hunger and malnutrition. This means that 1 in nearly 7 people do not get enough food to be healthy and lead an active life, making hunger and malnutrition the number one risk to health worldwide – greater than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined.

About 24,000 people die every day from hunger or hunger-related causes. Three-fourths of the deaths are children under the age of 5.

Malnutrition can severely affect a child’s intellectual development. Children who have stunted growth due to malnutrition score significantly lower on math and language achievement tests than do well-nourished children. Preschool and school-aged children who experience severe hunger have higher levels of chronic illness, anxiety and depression, and behavior problems than children without hunger

Obesity is another form of malnutrition. Globally, there are more than 1 billion overweight adults, and at least 300 million of them are obese. Childhood obesity is a serious global health concern, reaching epidemic levels in some countries. From 1980 to 2000, the number of overweight adults in the United States doubled and the number of overweight adolescents tripled, according to U.S. Surgeon General.

Hunger persists in the United States. 35 million people – including almost 13 million children – live in households that experience hunger or the risk of hunger. This represents approximately one in eleven (or 11% of) households in the United States.

The world produces enough food to feed everyone. World agriculture produces 17% more calories per person today than it did 30 years ago, despite a 70% population increase. This is enough to provide everyone in the world with at least 2,720 kilocalories (kcal) per person per day. The principal problem is that many people in the world do not have sufficient land to grow, or income to purchase, sufficient food.

Okay, so here is your assignment about hunger and nutrition. First, of all go to the following link;

Then write a 2-3 paragraph essay explaining what “myths” did you believe before reading this reality, as well as which ones were you “surprised” by? Explain. You should also go to this following link to fully understand the impact of World Hunger:http://www.wfp.org/hunger/stats

Narrative: The well-being of mothers, infants, and children determines the health of the next generation and can help predict future public health challenges for families, communities, and the medical care system. Moreover, healthy birth outcomes and early identification and treatment of health conditions among infants can prevent death or disability and enable children to reach their full potential. In the United States alone, More than 80% of women will become pregnant and give birth to one or more children.3 31% of these women suffer pregnancy complications, ranging from depression to the need for a cesarean delivery.4 Many of these complications are associated with obesity during pregnancy. Although rare, the risk of death during pregnancy has declined little over the last 20 years. Each year, 12% of infants are born preterm and 8.2% of infants are born with low birth weight.5 In addition to increasing the infant’s risk of death in its first few days of life, preterm birth and low birth weight can lead to devastating and lifelong disabilities for the child. Primary among these are visual and hearing impairments, developmental delays, and behavioral and emotional problems that range from mild to severe. Pre-conception (before pregnancy) and inter-conception (between pregnancies) care provide an opportunity to identify existing health risks and to prevent future health problems for women and their children. These problems include heart disease, diabetes, genetic conditions, sexually transmitted diseases, and unhealthy weight.

Rape, child tracking, child serving as soldiers and shields, violence, child prostitution, etc are also a major problem in the world. Human trafficking has long been a tremendous issue in terms of human rights, but has been hard to combat due to the underground, extremely protective nature of those who engage in it. Tracking down traffickers is as hard as gauging their impact on a society and culture. However, each year non-profit organizations such as UNICEF and UNESCO invest vast amounts of resources into evaluating, analyzing, and tracking down data on human trafficking from the world’s governments.

One thing to remember about human trafficking is that it does not affect only one demographic and there are multiple forms of trafficking. While women and children are the most visible and openly exploited victims of trafficking in the labor and sex trades, men and workers from third world and developing countries can also fall victim to false promises, extortion, and threats from criminal elements. In fact, Over 100,000 U.S. children every year are forcefully engaged in prostitution or pornography. The UN estimates that nearly 4,000,000 individuals are trafficked each year, with a disproportionate number of children and women in the sex trade. UNICEF estimates that as many as 50% of all trafficking victims worldwide are children and that as many as two thirds of those children are at some point forced into the sex trade. Two children are SOLD every minute.

Therefore, your assignment is to write a five paragraph compare and contrast essay on any of the above issues (i.e. sex trade and child trafficking). Be thorough and use lots of examples.*******************************************************************

This completes Sectional Assignment #2. All information pertaining to your final exam will be included in our response to you with respect to Sectional Assignment #2’s point total.